Tristan
by Lunar Mitchell
Summary: 24 yr old Tristan was converted into a vampire by his father, Aro, who forced him to join the Volturi. In his quest to escape, Tristan discovers his own hidden power and falls in love with Caius's mistress. Prequel to 'The progeny' story of Renesmee
1. Awakening

_Tristan is a character that I created in my previous story 'The Progeny'. I liked the character so much that I wrote a spin-off story on him. If you have read my other stories, this one is much darker. Love to get your review!_

Chapter 1 Awakening

There was sunlight coming through the small barred window in the cold stone cellar. I couldn't remember how long I have been locked up here. All I could think of was my constantly dry and aching throat. There were footsteps coming down the stone staircase and the intoxicating scent made me agitated. My father had explained this to me. He had turned me into what he was. A vampire. Like him, I would forever thirst for human blood.

My father had disappeared more than ten years ago. We all thought he was killed while he was out hunting one day. His body was never recovered. Then one night, he appeared in our home looking pale as a ghost. My mother and I were both frightened by his scarlet red eyes. He told us that he had become an immortal and he wanted us to join him. My mother agreed right away but I was uncertain. It didn't matter what I thought because he was determined to convert us both. Before I knew what was happening, he bit me…

The metal door opened with a loud creaking sound and I was awoken from my daydream. Two petite vampires pushed a young girl into the cellar. I recognized the vampires. They were Jane and Alec. My father kept them as his personal guards. 

"Enjoy." Jane said with an angelic smile on her face.

My muscles tensed up in anticipation for pain. Surprisingly, I felt nothing. I could never tell if Jane was going to use her power to induce pain or if she was just smiling. My reaction put a smirk on her face. Alec looked bored. He tugged on Jane's hand to leave. Jane was still smiling when they turned around and left the cellar.

The metal door slammed shut behind them. The human girl screamed as she banged on the door frantically. I turned my face away from her and tried not to breathe. I didn't want to kill another human. It was the same every time. I felt disgusted at myself when their lifeless body drooped over my stone cold arms. I couldn't bring myself to look at their blood-drained faces for fear that I might recognize who they were. Day after day I would try to stop but the urge was just too strong.

Her presence now made my hands balled up into fists. I couldn't stop my body from shaking. Venom filled my mouth and my restrain was beginning to falter. I moved with difficulty to the farthest corner away from the human. It seemed to help when I wasn't looking at her so I kept my face to the wall.

"Be quiet!" I yelled out in frustration.

The breath of air I took to speak was burning through me like I had swallowed acid. The girl had no idea that her screaming was actually drawing me to her. She stopped screaming eventually and started whimpering quietly against the metal door. I tried to focus my mind on the pattern of the stone wall. To further distract myself, I began scratching a mark on the wall as each second went by.

When one side of the wall was completely covered with scratch marks, the metal door creaked open and Jane walked in alone. She looked surprised that the human was still alive.

"Impressive. Aro will be delighted that you are ready so soon." Jane commented in her childlike voice.

The human girl was sitting against the wall with her arms wrapped around her knees. She shuddered as Jane spoke. Jane looked at me and smiled.

"Come with me." She ordered me as she turned to exit the cellar.

I looked at the short distance between the human girl and the exit. It was going to be a challenge for me to walk out that door without succumbing to my urge to kill her. I slowly and carefully glanced towards her. Her long curly blonde hair fanned out over her shoulders. She couldn't have been more than fifteen or sixteen years old. For a brief second, my eyes met her eyes. The fear and the horror I saw in those eyes made me tightened up my jaw. I held my breath and ran out the exit. As I ran out, two male vampires walked into the cellar. I heard the girl scream as the metal door slammed shut behind me. I closed my eyes as the image of the girl flooded my mind. It was stupid for me to think that she was going to live just because I didn't kill her. I let out the breath I held.

Jane led me up a few sets of staircases until we reached a short tunnel-like hallway. There was a thick wooden door at the end of it and the door was ajar. I could sense at least five or six vampires inside.

Jane knocked once and pushed the door open. The room was crowded with antique furniture and ornate vases that my father loved to collect. I had no doubt that this was my father's private chamber. He sat in a throne-like chair in the middle of the room with four scantily dressed females surrounding him. My nostrils flared. I was appalled by his lack of respect for my mother.

Jane cleared her throat as a signal for the females to leave the room. My father waved his hand casually and the females drifted out the door. They all stared at me curiously as they drifted past me.

"Master, Tristan is ready to join us." Jane announced in her high pitch voice.

"That is wonderful news!" Aro exclaimed. "How do you feel, Tristan?" He asked excitedly.

"Where is mother?" I asked, ignoring his trivial question.

I wondered if he was keeping her in the dungeon like he did with me. I bet he didn't want her to interfere with his affairs. I tightened my jaw.

"Tristan, your mother didn't survive." He paused briefly and then continued. "I didn't tell you until now because you seemed so overwhelmed by your conversion."

His words stunned me and I was speechless. The image of my mother gently smiling filled my mind. As I registered what he said, anger came over me like a raging storm. My body was shaking and I could hardly form the words that I wanted to say.

"You killed her!" I said through my teeth. "You selfish monster..." I said spitefully as I ran towards him.

I couldn't reach him. Pain shot through my body suddenly and I fell onto the floor.

"Jane, that's enough." Aro ordered.

"Yes, Master." Jane replied.

The pain withdrew instantly but my body was still in shock from the sudden assault. I slowly got back up to my feet. There was no way I could attack him. There was no way I could escape.

"What do you want from me?" I asked.

Aro looked surprised by my question. He hesitated before answering.

"Tristan, you are my only son. Everything I own is also yours." He slowly turned around to caress an antique vase.

"The Volturi protects our kind from being exposed to the human world. We make it possible for all of us to survive. This is not an easy task." He turned back around to face me.

"I need your help." He asked in a soft voice.

"No." I said simply.

I would never help him, not after what he had done to my mother. All I wanted to do now was to get away from here. I didn't care about the Volturi and the survival of our kind. I never wanted to become like him. He had turned me into a monster.

I turned around to leave the chamber but I paused in front of Jane when she began to speak.

"Even if you manage to crawl out of here, Tristan, Demetri will just track you down and drag you back." Jane said as-a-matter-of-factly.

I continued walking. Jane was right. I would be a fool to think that I could leave that easily. I was stuck here, whether I like it or not.


	2. Eliza

Chapter 2 Eliza

Three years later…

I stood by the window watching the sunset. It had been exactly three years since I was human. My memory of that part of my life had gradually faded into the dim background of my mind. I couldn't remember the last time I felt warmth. It was as if I had always thirsted for human blood. I hated that feeling. I hated being here.

On many occasions, I have tried to escape. Each time, Demetri would track me down and Jane would paralyse me with her power. I would end up back here as if I have never left. I was getting better at hiding my tracks though. This time, I was gone for nearly a month before they found me hiding in Florence. Even Demetri had to admit that I was getting to be a challenge for him. Ironically, Demetri and I have developed some sort of an appreciation for each other's talent. It was almost like a game of hide-and-seek for us. If I didn't want leave so badly, we might even be friends. Demetri was always courteous with me. It was only Jane who enjoyed torturing me with pain. Sometimes I wished that Jane would just kill me. I have tried to kill myself many times and nothing seemed to be lethal to my vampire body. The only way for me to die was to let another vampire tear me to pieces. Surely no one inside the Volturi was going to do that to me. I tried provoking vampires that I met outside during the times that I have escaped. That didn't work either. As soon as the vampires recognized me as the son of Aro, no one would touch me with a ten-foot pole.

There was a tap on my door and I knew it was Demetri standing outside.

"Aro is expecting you at the ball tonight." He said as I opened the door.

I nodded my head and followed him out. It was another debutante ball that my father loved to host for welcoming newly converted female vampires into their new life. It marked the day that their newborn period was over and that they were ready to come out of the dungeon. Honestly, I didn't see what was there to celebrate. This new life was a never-ending nightmare for me. I couldn't understand how my own father could take pride in his new form and how he could tolerate killing human over and over again.

"Hey, don't look so miserable!" Demetri said in a friendly tone. "The new one is supposed to be a beauty."

"Great." I said sarcastically.

I had no interest in the drama within the Volturi. However, it was inevitable that I learn of the gossip since everyone else seemed to be so absorbed by them. For example, I knew that Caius liked to take in female vampires to be his mistress, however, this was the first time that he had actually converted a human for that purpose. His behaviour was considered scandalous inside the Volturi. Caius denied it but everyone knew that the rumour was true. Apparently, his wife would attend the ball with him tonight to prove his innocence.

The door to the ballroom was opened for us. Inside, the chamber was decorated with hundreds of candles and white flowers. There were vampires everywhere, some I recognized and some I didn't. Most of them were dancing to the music being played on violins. Everyone was dressed extravagantly. As I walked across the room, I tried not to step on the floor length dresses that the female vampires wore. Suddenly the music stopped. Cauis's wife, Athenodora, stood in the front of the room and announced that she would be introducing the debutante shortly. Everyone could see the bitterness in her eyes that she was no doubt trying to hide. I shook my head and chuckled at the silliness of the whole charade and then I froze. I couldn't take my eyes off the girl who was walking down the stone staircase onto dance floor. She was stunningly beautiful. Her soft brown curls bounced lightly on her shoulder as she descended the stairs. She looked up at the crowd with her captivating scarlet eyes and the room began to buzz with small talk. For a brief second, her eyes met mine. I stared at her like an idiot and she quickly looked down to the floor. Her long thick lashes touching her flawless cheeks. I couldn't help but imagined that she would be blushing if she was still human.

The music began again after Athenodora made her introduction. An idea suddenly came into my head. Perhaps if I caused enough trouble here, my father might be forced to throw me out. I walked confidently towards the front of the room where Eliza stood gracefully in her ivory silk gown. She saw me approach and she looked down at her hands. I stopped in front of her and boldly lifted her hand in mine.

"May I have this dance?"

Everyone was staring at me in disbelief. My father was one of them. Eliza shot a glance at Caius, who nodded ever so slightly. His expression was calm but his eyes were betraying his anger inside. I smiled and led Eliza to the dance floor. She didn't speak as we danced. She only nodded in reply to the few questions I asked her. When the music stopped, I deliberately held her a second longer. I saw Athenodora put her hand on Caius's arm. The thought of Caius secretly fuming made me wanted to laugh out loud. Eliza looked up at me with fear and confusion in her eyes. I smiled and finally let go of her. She curtsied and I bowed.

"Thank you, it was a pleasure." I said politely.

Behind me, I could sense my father approaching. I turned around and quickly walked out of the chamber. The music resumed inside. My father didn't follow me out. He probably didn't want to cause a bigger scene than what I have done already. As I took a few steps down the stairs, one of Caius's personal guards appeared at the bottom and blocked my path. I turned around and saw another guard standing on top of the stairs. I raked my hand through my hair and let out a sigh. I was trapped.

The guards threw me into Caius's private chamber. I crashed into a wooden chest and it shattered into pieces. Before I had a chance to get back on my feet, the guard slammed me back down again. With my face to the floor, I heard Caius enter the room.

"Pick him up!" He ordered the guards.

The guard held my arms tightly behind my back as he pushed me to face Caius. Caius struck me across the face with the back of his hand. I spat out the venom in my mouth and dared him to kill me. Caius's expression turned furious. He was about to strike me again when my father came in. Jane and Alec followed closely behind him.

"Caius! All this for a female?" Aro asked.

"He is way out of line, Aro." Caius said angrily.

"Perhaps he is. But I shouldn't trouble you to discipline him for me. After all, he is my son." Aro said to Caius menacingly.

Caius glared at Aro for a second and then he ordered his guards to release me. Jane instantly used her power to put me on my knees. I couldn't get up with the shooting pain down my back. Demetri had to drag me back to my room.

Inside my room, my father glared at me without saying a word. Before he left, he ordered Jane and Demetri to keep an eye on me. Great, I thought to myself.

I was left alone in my room but I could sense their presence just outside my door. Suddenly, I heard a soft thud in the balcony. I walked over and was surprised by what I saw. Dangling on a rope was the girl I just danced with.

"What in heavens are you doing?" I whispered.

"What do you think? I am trying to escape!" Eliza whispered in a frustrated tone.

I smiled at her response. I knew there was more to her than what I saw in the ballroom. I walked closer to her and lean my arms on the stone railings.

"Well, you are not going to get far without my help." I said softly.

Eliza lowered herself onto the railing and she perched there for a second. She had changed into a navy blue dress and a pair of laced-up brown boots.

"Why should I trust you?" She asked in a whisper.

"You shouldn't, but you have no choice." I whispered as I offered my hand to help her down.

Eliza let out a sigh softly and jumped down without taking my hand.

"Alright, so how do we get out of here?"

"Get in the bed."

"What?" She asked in a whisper. Her eyes narrowed in confusion.

"Trust me."

Eliza got in the bed and hid under the covers. I took off my shirt and followed her. Eliza instantly widened her eyes and pushed her arm out against my chest. She was about to say something when door to my bedroom opened and Jane stepped in.

"What is going on in here?" Jane demanded.

I pulled Eliza against my chest and used my bare back to block Jane's view.

"Sorry, Jane. I forgot to mention that my girlfriend was waiting for me in my bed."

"You disgusting pig!" Jane said in a spiteful tone.

Demetri poked his head in as Jane turned around and stormed out of the room.

"Guess he won't be going anywhere for a while." He said to Jane and they both walked down the hallway.

Once they were out of hearing range, Eliza shoved me off the bed.

"No need to thank me for saving your life." I said sarcastically.

"Thank you" Eliza said quickly with downcast eyes.

I smiled and put on the shirt that I dropped on the floor.

"Come on, let's get out before they come back here." I said to Eliza and then I jumped off the balcony. 


End file.
